Operational production management in 1C:MES

1C:MES Manufacturing Execution is designed for operational planning and dispatching of production operations, as well as for monitoring the quality of finished products. The software belongs to the MES (Manufacturing Execution System) category, i.e., systems for managing production processes. Taking into account all existing constraints and the current situation on the shop floor, the system lets you flexibly build an optimized operational production plan according to specified criteria. Thanks to its built-in integration tools, 1C:MES can be used together with 1C:ERP and 1C:PLM. In this setup, the functions are distributed as follows: 1C:ERP handles master planning by volume and date, economic calculations, and statutory accounting; 1C:PLM handles design and process engineering, as well as product data management; and 1C:MES is responsible for refining the production plan down to individual operations and for direct control of shop-floor processes.

The system gives employees the following capabilities:

• Planning and economics department specialists: determine production volumes, track adherence to planned deadlines, and monitor piece-rate pay accrual for workers.
• Production dispatching department staff: create production stages, monitor production progress in real time, and track deadlines for process operations.
• Materials supply (procurement) department specialists: receive schedules of raw material and component requirements and process material transfers to production shops.
• Quality control department (OTK) staff: record production defects and track key quality indicators at every stage of manufacturing.
• Sales managers: quickly find out whether an order can be fulfilled by the date the customer requested.
• Heads of production units: see the list of scheduled operations, assign tasks to workers, and monitor the progress of manufacturing processes.
• Shop-floor workers: receive shift assignments on time and enter data on completed production operations.

1C:MES capabilities

• Design and process data management. This module provides centralized storage and management of all information on the structure of manufactured products, including finished goods and intermediate semi-finished products. Its functions also include describing and maintaining routings that define how products move through all production areas, shops, and warehouse zones.
• Production order portfolio management. The system provides tools for creating and maintaining the overall list of production orders. At this stage, the initial completion date for each order is calculated, and orders are continuously monitored and updated as the production situation changes.
• Operational scheduling. This functionality supports detailed planning of the production process. It includes breaking production down into specific stages, building a consolidated master schedule at the APS (Advanced Planning and Scheduling) level, and a more detailed operation-level schedule at the MES level. Plans are continuously monitored, and in the event of disruptions or deviations the system responds promptly and automatically revises the current schedule.
• Production dispatching and tracking. The module provides direct, real-time control over production progress. It lets you create specific production tasks and send them to workers, record their actual completion, and monitor compliance with time standards. Based on the data collected, the system automatically generates output reports and piece-rate work orders for payroll, and supports quality control of manufactured products.

Product structure data

Managing data on the structure of finished and semi-finished products, as well as on their routes through production shops and warehouses, is a key element of any production management system.

Product master data is the basis for planning production activities and calculating material costs. The main tool for planning material requirements is the resource specification (bill of materials).

A bill of materials lists the raw materials, supplies, and other components used to manufacture a product. All data on materials, semi-finished products, components, and finished goods is stored in the infobase, which speeds up the creation of bills of materials and, as a result, simplifies planning and management. A BOM may also contain standard rates for waste generated when parts are processed. For each subsequent production stage, the semi-finished product from the previous stage is treated as an input component. Any component or finished product can be made from other items in the item catalog, and it can in turn be used in the BOM of another, more complex product.

The bill of materials also records the production stages that describe the sequence in which products are made. Routings are used to describe the manufacturing process performed within each BOM stage.

From an operational planning perspective, the entire manufacturing cycle in 1C:MES can be represented as a sequence of routings, i.e., descriptions of sets of process operations. The structure of objects used to define product composition is exactly the same as in 1C:ERP, and when the two systems work together, data between them is synchronized.

Product structure and master data can be created either with the system’s built-in tools or by integrating 1C:MES with PDM/PLM systems, where design and process documentation for the product is created and material and labor standards are set.

1C:PDM 4 (PLM) can serve as the PDM system. The exchange mechanisms with 1C:PDM 4 (PLM) supplied with 1C:MES transfer product master data into bills of materials for subsequent use in production planning.

Production order portfolio management

This subsystem is used to define quantity and date requirements for finished and semi-finished products. Completion dates for production orders are calculated based on actual production capacity and adjusted as the actual completion of process operations is recorded. The system can combine several production orders into a single production batch.

The order structure makes it possible to analyze requirements for finished products and intermediate semi-finished products. Within this structure, you can allocate existing finished or in-process stock.

Production stages are generated in the system based on the order structure:

Operational production planning

The main functions of the subsystem are:

• building an operations schedule according to the specified optimization criteria to complete the required volume of work, taking into account all existing constraints and the actual production situation at the time the plan is created;
• tracking completion dates for key objects (orders, production stages, process operations);
• real-time monitoring of production progress and response to any deviations from the approved schedule, including rescheduling to implement corrective decisions.

To build the operations schedule, 1C:MES uses the mathematical apparatus of scheduling theory, in particular a heuristic algorithm that combines “greedy” strategies with limited-search strategies, as well as elements of graph theory. It addresses a special case of the scheduling problem with precedence relations and resource availability constraints, where operations can be interrupted (the PRCPSP problem: Preemption Resource-Constrained Project Scheduling Problem).

The algorithm places process operations on the work centers’ timelines without being tied to discrete time slots, taking into account the following constraints:

• the required sequence of process operations (precedence relations);
• availability and load of the main production capacity (work centers);
• transportation time between work centers or between different departments;
• availability of all material resources (inventory) required to perform the operations.

Transportation matrix

The transportation matrix is used to account for the time needed to move workpieces between consecutive operations. When adjacent operations are performed at work centers within the same department, the system uses the transportation time between those specific work centers when planning. When adjacent operations are performed at work centers in different departments, planning takes into account the time needed to move between the departments themselves.

Production schedule calculation

The production schedule is built according to the set order priorities, based on data from production orders and defined production stages. The main purpose of the production schedule is to visualize the estimated completion dates of an order and its production stages calculated by the system, and to show how they compare with the order’s planned (committed) due date.

Operations schedule planning

The operations schedule shows specific work centers and the operations assigned to them, in line with the work center calendars and taking into account the selected constraints and optimization criteria.

Rescheduling production

Defects, equipment breakdowns, and delays against planned operation times cause deviations from the production schedule. To bring the product’s production data up to date, the production schedule must be recalculated.

Production dispatching

The main goals of dispatching are to ensure and maintain an uninterrupted production process without disrupting the approved production cycle, and to guarantee traceability of finished products at every stage of manufacturing.

A feasible operational production plan cannot be created without feedback on the progress of scheduled operations. The main functions of the production dispatching subsystem include:

• Generating production tasks for process operations;
• Recording operation progress in real time;
• Monitoring deadlines for production operations;
• Preparing product output documents.

Generating production tasks

The operations schedule is the data source for generating production tasks for production operations. A production task lets you quickly assign workers to the required number of production operations at once rather than one operation at a time. Operations can be selected for a production task either manually or by criteria.

Production operations management

This functionality is used to navigate the production stages released for execution and to manage production progress in real time. For each production stage, operations are displayed with their work center and standard execution time, according to the filters applied.

The system lets you create production operations based on process operations, mark their start, completion, or partial completion, and specify one or more workers, taking into account the labor participation coefficient (KTU).

Operations not completed for any reason are placed back on the equipment load schedule and rescheduled when the replanning procedure is run.

Recording actual operation completion

When a production operation is completed, the following information is recorded:

• actual completion time;
• actual quantity of operations completed and quantity of operations that can still be completed.

This information is filled in automatically and can be edited.

Production terminal

To support operator interaction with the terminal, barcodes can be generated for employees, production stages, and operations. The printout shows barcodes for the production stage and for the operations performed within it. This makes it easier to find records in the system during production dispatching.

Shift production report

The shift production report is used to promptly record data on:

• output produced during the shift;
• quantity of materials consumed during the shift.

Shift crew report

The crew of a specific shift can be found in the “Piece-rate wages” report, which lists all completed process operations and the workers who performed them for a given period.

Generating piece-rate work orders

This functionality is used to record actual piece-rate output and costs in management, financial, and tax accounting, and to calculate wages:

• the piece-rate work order describes the work performed;
• it records the workers (for example, a crew) who performed the work.

Recording work actually performed in the production stage

The work actually performed by workers, actual material consumption, and product output are recorded on the corresponding tabs of the Production Stage document. This information can then be transferred to accounting systems such as 1C:ERP.

Quality control

A quality control type can be specified for each operation in the routing. Once marked as completed, an operation that requires inspection appears in the “Quality Control Management” form.

Inspection results are recorded with the “Submission for Inspection” document. If defects are found, you can specify the quantity of nonconforming products, the nonconformity type (Acceptable, Correctable, Uncorrectable), and the nonconformity category.

Transferring items to the warehouse

Items can be transferred to the warehouse based on a completed production operation, a completed production stage, or a submission for inspection. The product lets you track the movement and status of work in progress, finished goods, and rejected products.

Role-based workstations

The configuration organizes workstations on a role basis. A user profile is built from a set of roles that enable the functions matching a specific employee’s job duties.

Integration capabilities

Data on the company structure, product master data, incoming orders, and production stages stored in 1C:ERP catalogs can be transferred to 1C:MES for production planning. Planning results and data on the actual performance of production operations are sent from 1C:MES back to 1C:ERP to calculate the cost of manufactured products. Data exchange between the systems is handled by integration mechanisms built into 1C:MES.

Integration with 1C:PDM 4 (PLM) allows 1C:MES to use product master data created in the PLM system for production planning, including product structure, manufacturing routings, and material and labor standards.

Users of 1C:Manufacturing Enterprise Management (1C:UPP) can purchase the “1C:MES Manufacturing Execution Module for 1C:Manufacturing Enterprise Management. Special Delivery. Electronic Delivery” (product code 2900002245806), which includes built-in integration with 1C:Manufacturing Enterprise Management, version 1.3.

Technology advantages

1C:MES Manufacturing Execution is built on the current version of the 1C:Enterprise 8.3 platform, which provides:

• high system reliability, performance, and scalability;
• the ability to work with the system over the internet via the thin client or web client (in a standard browser), including in cloud mode;
• deployment of mobile workstations on tablets and other mobile devices;
• interface customization for a specific user or group of users based on the role model, access rights, and individual preferences.

The system’s functional options mechanism lets you enable or disable individual functional blocks of the application without programming or modifying the configuration.

Our MES implementation case studies in manufacturing:

TOREX Steel Doors

AEMZ

UKVZ

We will show how modern digital solutions help increase productivity, cut costs, and minimize errors in production processes, and how 1C:MES makes production more transparent and easier to manage.

In this webinar, you will learn about:

• ✅ 1C:MES capabilities 
• ✅ Master data
• ✅ Production order portfolio management
• ✅ Production planning
• ✅ Production dispatching
• ✅ Inventory management
• ✅ Our implementation case studies and the results achieved.

Who should attend:

• CEOs and owners of manufacturing companies
• Production managers and technical directors
• Automation and digital transformation specialists, IT managers
• Production planning and dispatching department specialists
• Shop planning and dispatch bureau (PRB) staff
• Materials supply department staff
• Quality control department staff

❗️The webinar is free, but seats are limited

Request a 1C:MES demo, and we’ll show you the full range of functionality relevant to your needs